Randolph Open House Set Friday

Restoration Final On Historic Home

June 10, 1999|By DEBORAH STRASZHEIM Daily Press

WILLIAMSBURG — The newly restored, red version of the Peyton Randolph House opens to area residents Friday.

Colonial Williamsburg will hold an open house for Good Neighbors from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Friday, so they can see for themselves the results of research done over more than two decades. The newly decorated house opens to the general public Saturday.

"No square inch of the building has eluded our eye," said architectural historian Willie Graham in a prepared statement.

The outside paint, changed from white to brick red, was the result of microscopic studies of flecks of paint. It is the most extensive paint analysis ever done on a Historic Area building, the foundation said.

The house was originally built in 1716. Peyton Randolph, who became the first president of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, expanded the building in 1756. The fact that he created an impressive house by adding onto the first one indicates that he was frugal, even as the furniture inside appeared lavish, researchers said.

"In the politics of the time, he was from one of the oldest and most respected families in the colony," said Jim Bradley, public relations manager with the Colonial Williamsburg.

Today, Randolph's house is one of the most visited buildings in the Historic Area, after the Governor's Palace and the Colonial Capitol.

Colonial Williamsburg restored the house 60 years ago and opened it to the public in 1968. New archaeology on the property started in 1979, and the latest excavations on the property were done earlier this year. The house closed for work in January, Bradley said.

Residents will be admitted to the house with a Good Neighbor pass, available free to residents of Williamsburg, James City County and the Bruton District of York County.

The restoration work on the house was done when the foundation also installed new plumbing, wiring, heating and air conditioning systems.

"That was one of the challenging things about this particular project," Bradley said.

- Deborah Straszheim can be reached at 221-7220 or by e-mail at dstraszheim@dailypress.com